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    <title>THE MOODY BLUES - Reviews</title>
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<h1>
    THE MOODY BLUES
</h1>

<div class="quote">
    "Hated by the Rolling Stone magazine since 1967"<br />

    <img alt="Pinder, Lodge, Hayward, Edge and Thomas: the unforgettable 'classic' line-up" src="images/blues.png" />
</div>

<div class="members">
    Mike Pinder, John Lodge, Justin Hayward, Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas<br />

    <a href="http://www.southparkstudios.com/games/create.html">South Park Create-A-Character</a>
</div>

<p class="albumList">
  <a href="#passed">Days Of Future Passed</a><br />
  <a href="#chord">In Search Of The Lost Chord</a><br />
  <a href="#dream">On The Threshold Of A Dream</a><br />
  <a href="#children">To Our Children's Children's Children</a><br />
  <a href="#balance">A Question Of Balance</a><br />
  <a href="#sojourn">Seventh Sojourn</a><br />
</p>

<p>The Moodies are quite interesting to review... but very boring to re-review, when your previous reviews sucked badly. But anyway, these guys were quite one of a kind in the history of rock music. Where to begin with? Well, their breakthrough album was <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong>, in 1967 - and what a breakthrough it was. It truly took the world by surprise, with a quite novel premise, and a timeless piece that they're still obliged to play even today: 'Nights In White Satin'. When they were introduced to the label, though, they were entitled to make a rock interpretation of Dvorak's "New World Symphony", with conductor Peter Knight in charge of the orchestra. The band, however, changed the plans on their own, and put out the album. The final result combines the band's rock/folk compositions with Peter Knight's orchestral arrangements. Certainly that involvement with the orchestra influenced their future compositions.</p>

<p>Mike Pinder, the band's keyboardist, was <em>very</em> intimate with the Mellotron: the funky instrument that plays notes by reading magnetic tapes. And when many musicians had a truly hard time trying to learn its tricks, Mike Pinder handled it like it was a child's play. As a result, the instrument's textures and layers are present in a large part of the band's music, giving it a grandiose, full and rich sound - probably to fill in the part of an orchestra that isn't there. All five members wrote songs, and each of them had their own, unique style: just with a bit of listening, you'll start recognising who wrote what, you know? Drummer Graeme Edge had the smallest input, but in every album, he managed to insert bits of poetry he wrote himself - a trick taken from <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong>, still. Yeah, Edge's poetry became one of the band's unique trademarks. The problem is that those bits of poetry weren't Earth-shattering at all. They were quite trite, at times. But, oh, well, I'll discuss them when I review the albums.</p>

<p>So there: the band's songs were always fresh and filled with ideas, the guys used their playing abilities in very clever ways (Justin Hayward's guitar and Ray Thomas's flute were great additions to the brew)... so, what were their problems? You know, every band has problems, and the Moody Blues are no exception. Well... their main problem is that, many times, they took themselves too seriously. Their albums almost always had a certain "concept" in it, a theme running through it - another idea taken from their debut album - and they relied <em>too much</em> on those concepts. That resulted in a few misfires, like on the album <strong>In Search Of The Lost Chord</strong>, that ended up overshadowing the music's strengths a little. The thing is that they didn't do that because they were pompous arses and thought they were philosophers or what - at least, that's how it seems to me. The band did that because, well, many other bands did that. Concept albums were popping up everywhere back in that time, and the band was only doing their part. They truly believed it was a great thing, but they took a while to try to master it. <strong>In Search Of The Lost Chord</strong> doesn't sound too pretentious; it sounds too <em>na&iuml;ve</em>. They tried their best, they were trying to do a great thing, but they failed somewhat. So, it's useless to condemn them too harshly of that. The best deal is to enjoy the music underneath the "concepts". And I assure you the music is wonderful. Like I said, these guys were one of a kind: you <em>won't</em> find lots of bands like this one. Get their albums and listen. That's all I can say for now.</p>

<p><a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Mail your ideas</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="passed">Days Of Future Passed (1967)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li>The Day Begins</li>
  <li>Dawn: Dawn Is A Feeling <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Morning: Another Morning ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Lunch Break: Peak Hour ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) / Time To Get Away ++</span></li>
  <li>Evening: The Sunset / Twilight Time <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Night: Nights In White Satin ++</span></li>
</ol>

<p>This wasn't the band's proper debut; they had released an LP with their previous line-up, back when John Lodge and Justin Hayward weren't in the band. But the band themselves consider this their first album, so who am I to disagree? So, yes. This album was actually a fairly risky bet the band decided to take, as they were actually enlisted by record label Deram to record a "rock symphony" rendition of Dvo&#345;&aacute;k's Symphony No. 9, with the help of classical composer and conductor Peter Knight, as a payment for their debts with the label due to advances. But the band took this as an opportunity to record the song cycle they had been playing on their live performances, which immitates the cycle of a full day - not a very complex concept, though some people interpret it as an allegory to the cycle of a man's life,which is not very original but quite clever, in terms of rock albums. Luckily for everyone, the album was a tremendous commercial success. And what you have here is what you could call the first true hybrid of rock and classical, but things are not quite as they seem.</p>

<p>See, there isn't a full integration between Knight's orchestral parts and the band's songs, because they actually don't play together. Instead, the orchestral parts at times serve to make the segues between the songs, and at other times completely steal the spotlight and lead the album on their own. In fact, the band is on control of only 60% of the album - the other 40% is Peter Knight on control. Now, the trouble is not that Knight is a bad composer, or anything. But, for example, the first track here is a completely orchestral prelude to the whole album, and during the first five minutes, the unaware listener will think that he actually bought the soundtrack to a 40's Metro Goldwyn Mayer or Disney movie by mistake. Yes, that's EXACTLY how the orchestra sounds like here, and all this stuff dated <em>badly</em>. And it's a shame, because the use of orchestra in itself isn't a bad idea, and Knight is clever enough to bring up themes from all over the album at certain spots (though he overdoes it, sometimes), but the kind of music is horribly, disgruntlingly cheesy. A good thing, I suppose, is that since much of that orchestral 40% of the album is concentrated on the opening track, you can skip it without missing any proper Moody Blues song. The most you'll miss is Graeme Edge's poetry, read by Mike Pinder, in which he describes the transition from night to dawn in that usual puffed-up, college student style, concluding with a sweeping "Brave Helios, wake up your steeds / Bring the warmth the countryside needs!" Oh, okay, thanks.</p>

<p>Now, for the positive points. To put it bluntly, the 60% of Moody Blues music found here is enough to guarantee this album a shimmering 13. If you consider only the songs, this is an <em>unquestionable</em> 14. But... oh, well. See, the orchestration never gets in the song's way, but it does interrupt the enjoyment sometimes, if I'm not in a particularly bright mood. But the actual songs are some of the <em>very best</em> stuff there is to find in the band's repertoire, and with that, I mean "fantastic". There are eight songs here, and all of them are excellent. The level of consistency and "chemistry" between the songs might probably been the result of the band performing this in their live set, and improving it and fine tuning it over time - something they couldn't pull off in thir subsequent albums - and it's indeed excellent. Each of the four songwriters contributes two pieces, and their styles are already pretty much defined here. And the arrangements simply don't have any precedents. While the basis of the music is the usual drums/bass/guitar, the magic comes from Ray Thomas's flute playing and Mike Pinder's professional Mellotron skills. This expands the band's sonic pallette considerably, and Tony Clarke's production makes the sound very, very deep and vast. This is truly a great achievement.</p>

<p>But the songs, well, they're an achievement on their own. The band's sense of melody is as tight as ever, and the songs match their respective "roles" in the song cycle with amazing perfection and cleverness. The two most unexpected pieces are Mike Pinder's ones. 'Dawn Is A Feeling' is a lush, slightly sad piano-laden ballad, with the verses delivered by Justin Hayward's precious voice. It's definitely not what <em>I</em> would expect to hear from a song depicting dawn,but after all, this is great - it's a refreshing way to depict it, and the song is beautiful altogether. His other song is 'The Sunset', and for that one, he decided to choose something of an aboryginal-sounding tune, complete with a sparse rhythm and strings arrangements. It's something of a ritual for the song, a very creative idea executed extremely well.</p>

<p>The remaining six songs are more like you'd probably expect, but the compositions are fantastic. They range from all-out R&amp;B-style rocking on 'Peak Hour' to gentle, melancholy balladeering on 'Time To Get Away' - curiously, both are John Lodge songs; the former boasting an envigorating performance and vocal harmonies, and the latter being just gorgeous: I just love the acoustic guitar line on the verses, and the gentle transition from the sad verses into the upbeat chorus. Ray Thomas shows his childlike approach to music with two irresistibly tuneful and joyous songs. The first is 'Another Morning', a march led by a deviously catchy flute theme and a tender band performance, and the latter is the funny, "menacing" 'Twilight Time', with a grander arrangement and an interesting electric piano sound. As for Justin Hayward, he gets the honour of writing the two most widely known and loved songs from the album. One of them is 'Nights In White Satin', his sweeping, glorious, gut-wrenchingly beautiful ballad. The main melodies are quite simple, but the song builds a huge momentum in the way it develops, and Ray Thomas's flute solo in the middle couldn't have been more perfect. Last but not least, 'Forever Afternoon' is an equally gorgeous pop ballad, with some more fabulous keyboard work by Pinder, and a brilliant contrast between the tender verses and the swingy bridges.</p>

<p>This record is a landmark in so many aspects that it's mandatory for anyone even mildly interested in 60's rock, or maybe even rock in general. It's a popular record even today, and certainly quite unique - Deram even packaged it and released it as a classical album. It's <em>not</em> a classical album, strictly speaking, but I can see this being seen as an attempt at bringing rock and classical closer together. That's not the album's main merit, though, and the merit <em>is</em> the band's compositions. Peter Knight's orchestrations are often seen, by the most cynical ones, as a grandiose mistake, a fatal error which ended up being not so fatal anyway. And, well, even being very generous I can't say I like the orchestral bits here; and Graeme Edge's poetry, which open and close the album (completing the "endless cycle" by finishing the album with the same six lines that opened it), are quite dismissable - not BAD, but just dismissable. But the music? Well, the music's more than sufficient reason for you to get the record. Oh, and keep in mind that the mix you hear in every CD or post 1978 LP is different from the original 1967 mix, which was lost due to tape deterioration (deterioration in but 10 years? Deram didn't do its homework or what?), and there are considerable differences between the two of them (most notably the bridge sections in 'Time To Get Away' which Lodge sings solo, when in fact there was originally a whole harmony there), but that should NOT put you off from getting the '78 mix. You need it.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>13/15</strong></big> - The orchestration spoils it a bit. A bit. The songs are great, you know.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>13/15</strong></big> - Great images, great feeling in these songs.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>13/15</strong></big> - I guess it was groundbreaking.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>14/15</strong></big> - Well... That's the whole point.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>13/15</strong></big> - There's the orchestra... but other than that, the album's almost flawless.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/13.png" alt="13" />
</p>

<p><em>Reader comments:</em></p>

<div class="commentsHeader">
      <strong><a href="mailto:ACAND@doh.health.nsw.gov.au">Alex Canduci</a> (May 6, 2004):</strong>
</div>

<div class="comments">
<p>Counterpoint - <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong></p>

<p>SUMMARY: "So, you're musically ambitious, but have poor technical skills - why not add an orchestra"?</p>

<p>I like this album a lot. Some of it is a bit cheesy, but it is 1967 we're talking about here. One of the first concept albums, the first that integrated orchestra &amp; rock band (with differing levels of success), and a herald of the Prog Rock explosion that was to follow within three years.</p>

<p>The overarching concept is nice, though not groundbreaking, the songs representing both a day and a life (or is that a day in a life? Or a life in a day? Whatever). In any event, we have a bunch of 60's folk-rock songs, with orchestral passages linking the pieces.</p>

<p>And I have to say that they are quite an impressive set of songs, in and of themselves. The orchestral stuff is more variable, but some of it is just magnificent.</p>

<p>It begins with 'The Day Begins' with the orchestral intro, where all the subsequent themes are introduced. The opening poem is excellent ('Proud Helios, wake up your steeds'), but it is occasionally a bit over the top in a pretentious way (but it was 1967 - what did you expect?)</p>

<p>Dawn then follows (and as with each song on the album, it has an orchestral intro). This is an excellent song, having dawn expressed in music that is slow, confused and foreboding. As Fernie has pointed out, you would expect Dawn to be a up tempo song, full of energy, promise and spirit, presaging great things to come. But for almost everyone on the planet, when you are born (with Dawn representing birth), you have no idea who you are, where you are, no idea about what you will achieve. All is confusion, and it takes time to understand the world - it is a foreboding experience. The music captures this brilliantly.</p>

<p>Morning is next, with a theme reminiscent of a children's simple melody, evoking feelings of childhood, where time is meaningless. Lyrics are nothing special, but you are caught by that melody.</p>

<p>Lunch - the orchestra intro is very poor here, a very 'Bewitched' 1960's piece of orchestral filler (used in movies wherever you see cars running in streets <span class="edNote">[editor's note: You're absolutely correct.]</span>). The song proper is up-tempo, and quite entertaining until the middle section, with it mutating into an almost church hymn type song. Not the greatest guitar solo either, really showing Hayward's limitations as a rock guitarist - his strength is more in the folk domain.</p>

<p>Afternoon - the intro here is great, with a nice bit of finger-picking on the guitar, and a simple (but very moving and brilliant) 3 note passage by violins &amp; mellotron (and great hi-hat usage). Tuesday Afternoon is a great song (perhaps the best on the album), and it has a great segue into Evening (utilising one of the better orchestral pieces). Evening is a nice acoustic, mellow piece, with a fantastic catchy chorus.</p>

<p>This then moves to Evening proper. Par for the course is another poor orchestral intro, but when it starts to merge into The Sun Set, it works well. This has a nice middle-eastern feel to the tune (again, very 1960's). It has an excellent restatement of the 3 note orchestral passage from Afternoon. This is probably the track where the orchestral stuff works the best. Twilight Time has a great harpsichord, another strong track.</p>

<p>And that leads us to Nights in White Satin. Again prefaced by a cheesy orchestral interlude, the song itself is excellent - music and lyrics just click nicely. My only concern is about how it fits into the album. This song always seems to me different to the rest of the concept, like it was written before the decision to make the album. It's a love song, that has been fitted into the album because of its use of the word 'night', rather than an exploration of night, or of the fading of the human life at night. <span class="edNote">[editor's note: Someone at the Mark Prindle site suggested that these lyrics should be seen as an old man about to die. I haven't verified this, but it kinda makes sense.]</span></p>

<p>Anyway, it is a brilliant climax, though I have to ask what is it with the alarm clock ringing at the end (before the orchestra returns and the end poem begins)? Again, the poem is great, but I do cringe every time I hear "senior citizens wish they were young" - very lame.</p>

<p>Overall, this is a must have album. There's lots to like about it, and is a good reflection of the times in which it was written. Simple compared to the complex Prog Rock that was to come, but still a very enjoyable listen. It's a shame that the success of this led to other concept albums that were nowhere near as strong.</p>

<p>Alex Canduci<br />
Land of Oz</p>
</div>

<p>Comments? "The LP version is better" remarks? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Send 'em in right now</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="chord">In Search Of The Lost Chord (1968)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Legend Of A Mind</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li>Departure</li>
  <li><span class="good">Ride My See-Saw ++</span></li>
  <li>Dr. Livingstone, I Presume <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">House Of Four Doors, part 1 ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Legend Of A Mind ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">House Of Four Doors, part 2 ++</span></li>
  <li>Voices In The Sky</li>
  <li>The Best Way To Travel <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Visions Of Paradise</li>
  <li>The Actor</li>
  <li>The Word</li>
  <li>Om</li>
</ol>

<p>This album helps define much of the framework for the next 6 Moody Blues albums. It is a concept album. At least <em>part</em> of it is. There's no more orchestra here. Instead, the band tried to bring in as many different instruments and sounds to their pallette and play them themselves. The songs all run into each other, sometimes quite awkwardly, just making a break halfway through, probably only because of the physical limitation of the vinyl record. There are two poems here (one of them even recited by Graeme Edge, in all his glory), and lyrics that get pretty silly in places. There's plenty of Mellotron, plenty of vocal harmony, and the songs all carry the distinct mark of their respective composers. And <em>this</em> album represents the band trying to prove to the world that they WERE psychedelic. As in, "look at us, BELIEVE us! We do drugs! We are COOL!", if you know what I mean. There's pretty much nothing else here, and they go to extremes of writing an entire song in homage of Timothy Leary, put the sitar as a main feature in some tracks, and call one of the songs "Om" (which is the grand conclusion to the album). I know that back then, almost everyone was into the groovy psychedelia thing, but isn't this a bit... I dunno... TOO exaggerated? It's not hippie: it's wannabe hippie. I know that they really meant this stuff, they weren't being posers (one quote attributed to one of them, I don't remember which, says "we didn't experiment drugs; we were experts in it"), but they just pulled it off in a pretty fishy way.</p>

<p>So, yes, count this as a major weakness in relation to their debut. Anyway, <strong>In Search Of The Lost Chord</strong> has a storyline, and I think you can deduce the synopsis by now. The real "song cycle" in the album, though, comprises pretty much only about six tracks, two of them being poetry, and all other tracks may or may not be faintly connected to the overall grand scheme of things. After all, the album is a journey through music in search of the legendary chord, so every song in here can be considered as part of the concept. But that would be the same as saying that every track is part of the "performance" in <strong>Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band</strong>, so yes, that is a concept album. The concept, while not being <em>silly</em> per se, surely takes a most unusual turn at the end, when they find out the chord is actually Om. On the other hand, there's the pretty clever suite of three tracks at the end of side A, which form the true bulk of the record. I'll get to that when the appropriate time comes.</p>

<p>Thing is, the music on the album is consistently good. Some near-missteps are taken on side B, but they're not truly ear damaging. Yes, 'Om' wanders on and on without ever being truly interesting - they at least bother to give a speed boost in the middle, to prevent the thing from being <em>too</em> drone-like, but the brand of "Indian" music here sounds pretty phony, if you allow me to say so. And some songs like 'Voices In The Sky' and 'The Actor', while not bad, are a real stepdown from the <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong> (guess that's what happens when you have to come up with extra material...), and 'Visions Of Paradise', though pretty and pleasant, it a bit too samey and repetitive for its own sake. On side A, though, aside from the silly - and a little scary - opening poem thing, there are no flaws. The "central" song, 'House Of Four Doors', is delicate and solemn at the same time, and very beautifully written. And you gotta admit that the trick of making each door correspond to one period of music, adapting the melody of the song to Medieval, Baroque and Romantic music is quite witty. The fourth door refers to contemporary music, and it's represented by the epic 'Legend Of A Mind' - yes, the oh-so-psychedelic Timothy Leary hymn. For a moment, let's ignore the lyrics. The music is wonderous. It's got the usual, great songwriting, as well as an extended instrumental break with Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder exchanging great flute and Mellotron work, respectively. It's delicate, grandiose and uplifting. In short, it's really great. This album is worth having if only for this song - and you can include its "bookends" as well.</p>

<p>The remaining songs are more than swell. In fact, 'Ride My See Saw' and 'Dr. Livingstone, I Presume' would make a perfect opening for the record, if 'Departure' wasn't there. But, oh well, it's pretty much useless to bitch about the poetry bit. The former song is fast, upbeat and catchy, though the set of lyrics ain't the most positive you could get. The vocal harmonies are in full form, here, and the song is a prime example of a poppy, high-energy Moody Blues song. 'Dr. Livingstone, I Presume', goes a more light path (even lighter?!), with a humourous aura going from the "nursery rhyme" verses to the sing-along chorus and the slightly more rocking ending. Finally, Pinder's 'The Best Way To Travel' is nifty, going "spaced out" but not overdoing it, and relying much more on that fun melody. Shame about that middle break with the "spacey" organ chords bending around - good way of breaking the flow with an unnecessary, clumsy trick. It doesn't harm the song that much, but I could live happily without it.</p>

<p>You should notice that this album is <em>very</em> polished, and really strives to be very refined. In terms of sound and production, it definitely is (though I just can't hear all that plethora of instruments they claim to play - not that I think they <em>didn't</em>, but I just can't hear it), and I guess this gives them some merit. The album as a <em>whole</em>, though, isn't one of their strongest, in my opinion. It's pretty representative of the band's spirit at this time, but the enjoyability suffers a little... Oh, well, there's still plenty to come. This is still the beginning,after all.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>12/15</strong></big> - There is enough good music here to make the album worth listening.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>10/15</strong></big> - Yes, well, a lot of stuff stands on the way here.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>12/15</strong></big> - The band is developing here their own identity... borrowing a lot from psychedelia, of course.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>13/15</strong></big> - Undoubtedly, the music itself leaves little to be desired. <br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>10/15</strong></big> - Yes... it has problems.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/11.png" alt="11" />
</p>

<p>Comments? Flames? "Graeme Edge rulz" remarks? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Mail me</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="dream">On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Never Comes The Day</big><em>, I SUPPOSE.</em>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li>In The Beginning</li>
  <li>Lovely To See You <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Dear Diary ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Send Me No Wine ++</span></li>
  <li>To Share Our Love</li>
  <li>So Deep Within You</li>
  <li><span class="good">Never Comes The Day ++</span></li>
  <li>Lazy Day <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Are You Sitting Comfortably?</li>
  <li>The Dream</li>
  <li>Have You Heard? part 1 <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>The Voyage <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Have You Heard? part 2 <span class="good">+</span></li>
</ol>

<p>I don't know about you, dude, but I don't call this a concept album. Yes, yes, there's still a considerable portion of the record that follows a concept, but the album as a whole forms less of a "song cycle" than the previous album did - to be more precise, the "concept" is reduced to the opening piece (yes, poetry) and the five last tracks, mostly. All in between forms a pretty, um, <em>normal</em> selection of songs - as in <em>pop</em> songs, be they ballads, rock tunes or other weird stuff. And I admit, that's a pretty crazy thing to come from the Moody Blues at this point, you know... as in <em>how</em>? The Moody Blues NOT following a concept for seven songs in a row? Hard to believe, not? Well, so it's there. But then again, the concept here is even more vague than in the previous one: dreams. Yeah, dreams.And I have to say, not even I can make the proper link between those supposedly conceptual songs... Really, this feels more like a put on than anything else. Either their philosophy is too complex for me, or it was too complex for even <em>them</em> to handle it right, or there's just no philosophy whatsoever. Make your bets.</p>

<p>Fact is, the "conceptual" bit of the album is really serious sounding. Both bits of poetry really go to extents they had never went to before. For example, the starting track is really puffed up, boasting electronic sounds and gadgets and various voices to state a message that isn't really <em>new</em>, and like I said before, doesn't seem to tie in well with the rest of the album. Really, I just don't know. Maybe I'm a dumbarse, but I don't think so. Then, near the middle of side B, 'Are You Sitting Comfortably?' greets you with a premise to take you back to Medieval times, with Merlin, Guinevere and whatnot, and then, 'The Dream' talks about... err, the dream, I suppose, and the next three tracks are a "suite" written by Mike Pinder. Of course, <em>all</em> songs here run into each other, so calling three tracks here a "suite" doesn't mean much. But, yeah, whatever. Those songs aren't bad at all. In fact, Pinder's suite is pretty good, consisting of an instrumental piece, 'The Voyage' - laden with piano, Mellotron and other keyboards - bookended by the pleasant, beautiful ballad 'Have You Heard?'. Yes, musically, this stuff ain't bad at all. I'm just a bit clueless on the thematics of this, but you know, I have little reason to care. Listening to the Moody Blues for lyrics is almost the same as listening to Kraftwerk for electric guitars - you might even get some, but aren't there better places to go?</p>

<p>Well, so, the music. The sound hasn't changed much - it's still has that spacey, slightly hollow reverb thing, and the "grandiose" feeling. It's a wee bit less "light" than <strong>In Search Of The Lost Chord</strong>, but that's mostly because of the songs. On the rockier side, we have Justin Hayward's 'Lovely To See You' and the pair of John Lodge tunes, 'Send Me No Wine' and 'To Share Our Love'. All three all very catchy and fun, especially 'Send Me No Wine',boasting those great vocal harmonies, and 'Lovely To See You', with a really catchy tune and a pretty guitar riff. Yup, that means that side A is quite ubpeat and joyous, to the band's standards, and the lack of "lyrical importance" to it helps make the experience much lighter, and I like that. The only signs of "grandness" come, oddly, in a love tune written by Mike Pinder. And 'So Deep Within You' actually ends up sounding quite silly, with its puffed up arrangement, "edgy" lyrics and bombastic delivery. But it's fun, you know, if only because it's pretty un-Moody Blues-like, considering what we've heard so far. It's silly in a fun way, and it's not something I'd make fun of, at least in a mean spirit.</p>

<p>Other than that, the album has a few 'serious' spots, and the most notable of them, in my opinion, is Ray Thomas's dreary 'Dear Diary', which features his usual flute playing, but set to a depressed, slow jazzy shuffle, and a melody delivered with a strange vocal distortion effect. It's <em>catchy</em>, but pretty unsettling. 'Lazy Day' stays a bit in the same tone, but giving some lighter spots - pleasant verses, an harmonica solo and all that. Still, those two songs are a major departure in tone for Ray Thomas. I wonder if that had a personal reason to be, or he just didn't feel like "stereotyping" himself as the "silly" guy in the crew. Whatever it was, it yielded great results. As for Justin Hayward, his last composition is the gorgeous ballad 'Never Comes The Day'. It's relatively understated and humble, and that actually works wonders to the song's own benefit. After all, the lack of "grandiosity" gives a great value to the simple, yet beautiful melodies it delivers. Yup, a genuine case of "more is less", and Hayward really hits the spot there. In all accounts, this is a very solid effort, and a really important step for the band. Here, they start to define their sound once and for all, and there's a fair balance between the "important" concept and the "simple" music, and even though this actually works to <em>divide</em> the album instead of balance it, it doesn't matter much, in the end. It's a good album and that's all there is to it.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>12/15</strong></big> - I wouldn't say there is <em>a lot</em> of things to enjoy here, but there is a good amount.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>11/15</strong></big> - Yes! The genuine music making steps in for quite a while.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>13/15</strong></big> - A bit derivative, still, but not much.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>13/15</strong></big> - No doubt about it. There's a surprising lack of "hollow" spaces.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>12/15</strong></big> - A large improvement.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/12.png" alt="12" />
</p>

<p>Comments? Suggestions? "pinder sux" remarks? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Mail me</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="children" class="best">To Our Children's Children's Children (1969)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Out And In</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li>Higher And Higher <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Eyes Of A Child <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Floating ++</span></li>
  <li>Eyes Of A Child II</li>
  <li>I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Hundred</li>
  <li><span class="good">Beyond ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Out And In ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Gypsy ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Eternity Road ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Candle Of Life ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Sun Is Still Shining ++</span></li>
  <li>I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Million</li>
  <li><span class="good">Watching And Waiting ++</span></li>
</ol>

<p>Not just tell me: where <em>did</em> this album come from? I'm really not trying to be derogatory towards the band's talents and skills, but <em>this</em> is pretty unexpected. If you try to think of an "evolution" beginning with <strong>In Search Of The Lost Chord</strong> and starting to take shape with <strong>On The Threshold Of A Dream</strong>, this album is pretty much, in the words of Neil Peart, "a quantum leap forward in time and space!", and I'll tell you why. See, no longer the concept of the album sounds "tacked on" at the end of the album, as an attempt to give the record importance. Here, the tracks do <em>genuinely</em> share a common theme, and do it in a natural, spontaneous way.Yep, sort of like <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong>, and though it's less focused here, you still can make the link and see, pretty much, what was on the guys' minds at the time. Yes, there was the influence from the moon landing, giving the notions of the infinite dimensions of the universe and the finite dimensions of life, and tries to provide more questions than answers; like a person looking at the sky and beginning to wonder about many things: where will we go from here? Where will we be in fifty years? Will we live in the moon? Will we live forever? Will I <em>miss</em> this moment once I'm there? Will I be happy? And so on. And, surprise surprise, Graeme Edge's only poem in the record is set to a soaring, high speed rock tune. So I ask of you, please, don't mind "the power of ten billion butterfly sneezes". Cut them some slack, awright?</p>

<p>But the music... Oh, yes, the music. The music has improved pretty much tenfold - and that's considering that <strong>On The Threshold Of A Dream</strong> was very solid, in that aspect. There isn't a single misstep here - not a song that's there more due to its conceptual function than to its musical values, or a song that overstays its welcome, or anything. There's <em>absolutely nothing</em> that I can complain about here - on the contrary! If I should list <em>all</em> things that I like in the record, I'd probably run out of patience. The album is very delicately assembled, and the songs are all very, very beautiful. The production is still top-notch and grandiose, and Mike Pinder's Mellotron plays a <em>massive</em> role here - it reigns supreme in the majority of songs. You can define this as one of the "definitive Mellotron albums", I think; it's layered all over the album, and gives the record a very symphonic, but very <em>odd</em> aura. It's not exactly <em>artificial</em>: more like alien. And it works. Imagine, another band could have tried to litter the record with flashy bleeps and wishy-wooshy synthetic sounds to give it a "space-like" feel. Picture that? Well, the Moody Blues stick to their faithful Mellotron and its thick, chilly texture. Much better, I say! The effect is perfect. And the band's sonic pallette is still not restricted, as once in a while, you hear the odd sitar jump in, a woodwind instrument, some chimes or something else like that. It doesn't sound as "crafted" as <strong>Pet Sounds</strong>, for example, but that's not necessarily a "good" thing: just a matter of style; a style that WORKS. I just hope we could actually HEAR the drums more often, aside from the constant "PSSSS, PSSSS, PSSSS, PSSSS" of Edge's open hi hat...</p>

<p>Works so well, in fact, that there a stretch of <em>six excellent songs in a row</em> here, as you can see on the track listing above. And the "non-excellent" bits aren't highlighted merely because they're short, thematic links. Not to say that Hayward's pair of very short acoustic tunes with very long titles shouldn't be there - they're fine - or that the "reprise" of John Lodge's 'Eyes Of A Child' is unnecessary - it isn't! - but... ah, you get my drift. Their presence is highly appreciated, as they're there to provice balance to the album and, inevitably, to make the highlights even better, heh heh. So yes, I really like 'Higher And Higher', with its guitar work and fast rhythm which makes it even "harder" than 'Peak Hour', from <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong>, and the ascending chord changes and the vocal harmonies give the perfect impression of rising and rising into the sky, like a rocket. Great opener, and it's followed by the pretty, unassuming, soothing 'Eyes Of A Child'. Lodge's style shows through, with the slow verses leading gradually into the bigger choruses similarly to 'Time To Get Away', but enough with comparisons - this music is great in its own merits.</p>

<p>After that great opening, you're thrown headfirst into one heck of a ride. One thing that is interesting here is how the musicians come up with compositions so radically different from each other. Graeme Edge's case is not that clear, for 'Beyond' is also fast and rocking and all, though it's more of a "cosmic" instrumental rocker, even with dark, intrusive episodes with Mellotron, echoes of flutes and whatnot. The music is extremely cleverly written and performed, and fits in the mood perfectly. John Lodge makes his own point with the optimistic "two part" 'Eyes Of A Child' and the melancholy, almost mourning ballad 'Candle Of Life', which is surprisingly introspective, considering the band's previous work. Yes, it's "serious", but not in a bad way. I mean, even the so maligned "So love everybody and make them your friend" chorus gives me the chills, as if they could see themselves, alone and empty, in the future. The music, needless to say, is just beautiful. Ray Thomas still goes the "playful" route, and 'Floating' is simply magnificent - a light, airy, incredibly uplifting pop tune about roaming the surface of the moon. The just pretty much <em>makes</em> you float, with its airy melody and those funny upwards sounds. 'Eternity Road' is given a rather solemn tone, over its speedy beat. It sounds kinda strange - it's not dreary at all, but its minor key and serious overtones don't seem to match the arrangement, which is probably intentional. It's a strange, great effect.</p>

<p>After all, the whole album is built upon this ambiguity of feelings - sometimes, it's just incredibly pleasant, and then, it turns sombre and introspective. But overall, it's both at the same time, you know? It's not divided at all - there's that funny tension running through it, and it's simply never resolved, because it's not supposed to be. And so, it goes all the way to Hayward's lonely ballad, 'Watching And Waiting', which oddly was the first single from the record. Yes, the label was betting on that song as the next hit, considering the success of 'Knights In White Satin'. The song is awesome, and makes a perfect ending to the record, but it just wasn't a good single. Shame. Oh, well, yes, the song's melody is completely up to Justin's standards - being also a collaboration with Thomas. And he gives another great shot with 'Gypsy', a dark, fast rocking tune. It's yet another proverbially perfect Moody Blues song, and there couldn't have been a better addition to the album.</p>

<p>And Mike Pinder, well, he decided to pull a Ray Thomas on us with 'Sun Is Still Shining', which brings the "Indian" influences done the <em>right</em> way - that is, subtly. And to me, it's irresistible, catchy and endearing, not to mention surprisingly gleeful for Pinder's standards. It has a "philosophical" tone to it, but what really grabs me is the way the melody is so simple and so perfect when combined with the lush arrangement and the layers of Mellotron. But his crowning achievement here is 'Out And In', a collaboration with Lodge, and that brings one of the <em>greatest</em> uses of Mellotron I've ever heard. Yes, and I <em>do</em> have the intro of Genesis's 'Watcher Of The Skies' in mind as I say this. Of course, it's not just all about the Mellotron - the composition itself is brilliant, and the sound it gets is just fantastic. I say, it's not by a whole country mile that 'Out And In' is ahead of the rest of the tracks here, but it's a true bliss. And the first to tell me about the Freudian tone in the song's title will have his ears boxed, I'm telling you.</p>

<p>I admit, yes, I do have a very, very personal fondness for this record. But all the fawning you've read above is totally rational. I mean, if I were to review the album based on my feelings, you'd get tired of seeing sugary adverbs splashed everywhere (<em>don't</em> count the adverbs you can actually see, ok? Thanks). And this is definitely my favourite Moody Blues album, <em>and</em> one of the most special, touching records I have in my collection. I mean, it <em>is</em> sugary, but everyone needs glucose in his blood. And, you may find me crazy, but there's a rather christmassy feel to the album. Maybe it's just an association I made, but yeah, it's there. And I can talk about it, after all, this is MY website. But enough with personal babble. Newcomers to the world of the Moody Blues might find this a nice place to start - <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong> has bigger standouts, but it has all the orchestration, too. Orchestration is zero here - there's just Moody Blue goodiness everywhere. In short, it's a brilliant, evocative, highly recommended album.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>15/15</strong></big> - Truly, simply spectacular.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>15/15</strong></big> - Mood and atmosphere rule supreme in this record. It's all very genuine.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>15/15</strong></big> - Well, nobody else was making music <em>just</em> like this back then, eh?<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>15/15</strong></big> - No doubt about it. Everything here is great, and I <em>mean</em> it.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>15/15</strong></big> - Not only that, but it's cohesive as hell.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/15.png" alt="15" />
</p>

<p>Comments? Raves? Lots of raves, in case you're John McFerrin? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Mail me</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="balance">A Question Of Balance (1970)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Question</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li><span class="good">Question ++</span></li>
  <li>How Is It (We Are Here?) <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>The Tide Rushes In <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Don't You Feel Small? <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Tortoise And The Hare <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>It's Up To You</li>
  <li>Minstrel Song</li>
  <li>Dawning Is The Day <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Melancholy Man ++</span></li>
  <li>The Balance</li>
</ol>

<p>Well, good news for those who hate repetition: the Moody Blues, here, dropped all that fancy, detailed, textured production and Mellotrons and stuff, and decided to <em>let us hear the drums</em>. But why? Because it was too hard to play that stuff live, you know, so here you have a album that <em>can</em> be reproduced on stage. Fans of the grandiose sound of the previous album will probably be disappointed, but me, I'm satisfied. After all, the songwriting quality is still pretty high - though not <em>as</em> high as on that album, unfortunately. But then again, how are you supposed to keep up the quality of an album such as <strong>To Our Children's Children's Children</strong>? Pretty hard, I say. And still, this album is sufficiently good to keep me interested.</p>

<p>The lyrics, however, are anything but "light". In fact, you might think that all the "heaviness" of the arrangements and production was dislocated to the lyrics and the themes. From outer space, they have warped all the way back to the Earth, and with feet solidly on its surface, they talk about melancholia, ecological and political problems, personal conflicts and all those pretty things. Yep, it's a very "charged" album, and I'd be a complete bastard if I called the stuff here "silly". I mean, the <em>Moody Blues</em> making political statements? Well, yep. And you know, they're not Bob Dylan, but they never truly lack in taste, and never run the risk of endangering the music with their lyrics. I really don't think this is bad at all. This album doesn't really "open my eyes", and/or my mind, but that's to be expected. Moody Blues fans... well, they're <em>ANOTHER</em> history completely.</p>

<p>The good stuff is that, well, most songs here are really good. There are very few that I can say that are below par. The Edge/Thomas collaboration 'The Balance', even though it's a pretty optimistic, uplifting finale to an album that's so depressed overall, is a bit clumsy, though not bad. It's mainly a poem read by Pinder, as usual, with nice, pleasant music backing it all up and an awkward sung chorus. I say again, it's not bad, but they have better stuff here. For example, instead of opening with a poem, the album kicks in with Justin Hayward's 'Question', a song that combines both of his songwriting strengths - the fast pop tune and the sweeping ballad. It's all driven by acoustic guitar, with the usual bits of Mellotron, and is essentially a ballad bookended by bursts of fast, catchy pop. And it's really great. The two-song approach works very, very well here, making one of the "prime" Moody Blues tracks. A true standard; so good, in fact, that no other songs here really match it, even though they are all nice. Each member showcases a bit of his own, individual skills, and Graeme Edge brings his first vocal song, the creeping, catchy 'Don't You Feel Small?'. He even provides vocals, though he just whispers loudly from below the soft harmonies. The effect turns out to be a little silly, but it doesn't harm the melody at all.</p>

<p>Justin Hayward, surprisingly, has two more songs here. They're quite weaker than 'Question', though. 'It's Up To You'is a fairly standard pop rocker, not as upbeat and catchy as 'Lovely To See You', but rather nice on its own. 'Dawning Is The Day' is a very lovely, lightweight ballad, on the other hand. After all, we all need lightweight ballads once in a while, especially when they're as nice as 'Dawning Is The Day'. Ray Thomas, in contrast, has only one song of his own,the magnificently beautiful 'The Tide Rushes In' - very restrained and introspective, to his standards, but glorious anyway. One odd thing here is Lodge's 'Minstrel Song', which always struck me as a pretty Ray Thomas-esque song, though not a <em>very good</em> one. It's reasonably catchy, though not really special. His other song, 'Tortoise And The Hare', is pretty good, getting on a jerky, nervous, constant rhythm and a pretty, um, <em>eerie</em> way to tell the infamous fable.</p>

<p>Finally, Pinder's compositions are great. 'How Is It (We Are Here?)' is short and very fun, and very catchy, too. Its "moody" atmosphere actually becomes slightly goofy, though it's <em>not</em> a goofy song. It's just fairly light, which is good, and the guitar solo in the middle is a welcome addition. And 'Melancholy Man' is really impressive: one of their most truly <em>hopeless</em> songs, executed masterfully by the band. The slow rhythm, huge Mellotron sound and the vocal harmonies give it a very heavy, crushing effect. It's lenghty, yes, but there'd be no point in making it short. This is a song you might utterly hate, though, so be well warned. The album, overall, is extremely likeable, however, and is one of the band's most accessible and recommended. Casual fans might get a kick out of it, as it's one of their catchiest and least self-important albums. Very good indeed.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>13/15</strong></big> - There's nothing tasteless and/or annoying here. Just a lot of fun music.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>12/15</strong></big> - You know what to expect: nothing exceptional. But the album is quite unobtrusive, which is good.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>13/15</strong></big> - The formula starts to get a bit weary, but they have some fresh things here, still.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>13/15</strong></big> - Just a bit of so-so music here. Overall, very nice material.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>11/15</strong></big> - Definitely not one of their most well-flowing ones, even though the songs still all run into each other.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/12.png" alt="12" />
</p>

<p>Comments? Ideas? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Send 'em in</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="favour">Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>The Story In Your Eyes</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li>Procession</li>
  <li>The Story In Your Eyes <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Our Guessing Game <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Emily's Song <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>After You Came <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>One More Time To Live</li>
  <li>Nice To Be Here</li>
  <li>You Can Never Go Home</li>
  <li>My Song <span class="good">+</span></li>
</ol>

<p>Talking about "formula getting weary"... You know, I don't really like using the word "formula" when I talk about music. And when you talk about "formula" about the Moody Blues, it can either refer to their musical style, or the "conceptuality" of the albums. If we're talking about the latter, well, this record is a standout. There's no concept here whatsoever - unless you're willing to call albums like <strong>Pet Sounds</strong> "concept albums", just because the lyrical themes are more or less related. There's no "out there" thematics, no suites, and... no poems! Well, at least, no <em>textual</em> poems, if you know what I mean. Graeme Edge's sole contribution is 'After You Came', a catchy, fast, invigorating pop tune. But what do I mean with "non textual poems"? Well, it's 'Procession', you see. All the vocals you'll hear are three chanted words (VERY bombastically chanted, so to speak), and the rest is an attempt at recreating the evolution of music through time. Didn't they do something similar in 'House Of Four Doors'? Yeah, but here, it's different, I suppose. But not only the piece is mere four minutes long, but half of it is occupied by meandering, aimless electronic sounds. So, the only flash of nifty music comes at the last two minutes, and the result is a rather contrived - yet beautiful - thematic piece. And it has <em>nothing</em> to do with the album. Shame is, it's not a <em>bad</em> piece, but they could have pulled it off much, much better - I really do believe they could. Shame, really.</p>

<p>So, ok, there's no more self-important and/or silly concept to run the risk of diluting the music. That's fine! But, well, you know, the music shows no traces of freshness this time around. Basically, it's a retreat to <strong>On The Threshold Of A Dream</strong> territory, though the mood is much more low-key. The production is heavy and lush again, and it might be even cleaner and more detailed than <strong>To Our Children's Children's Children</strong>, but the songs are pretty much recycling old ideas, and they don't hit the levels of consistency of their previous, better releases. There are no real duffers here, but some rather weak tracks. Aside from 'Procession', there's only eight of them, and the first four - all contained on side A - are all very good. Yes, side B might be the weakest album side of the first seven Moody Blues albums! And even when the music <em>is</em> going nicely, that nagging feeling of "been there before" kind of gets in the way. For example, 'Nice To Be Here' is the <em>typical</em> Ray Thomas piece, with a folksy rhythm, a playful melody and pleasant flute playing - but, you know, <em>what else</em>? Nothing at all. John Lodge goes bombastic on the acoustic ballad 'One More Time To Live', which recapitulates the wild chanting of "-tion" words from 'Procession' (conceptuality? More like intertextuality, for me), set to a grandiose march of sorts. 'You Can Never Go Home' is a <em>typical</em> Justin Hayward soft ballad, beautiful and all, but hardly surprising. And on 'My Song', Mike Pinder makes a second stab at a "suite" - a GOOD stab, very well written, and with a nicely developed instrumental section which is more varied and interesting than 'The Voyage', though the sung portions aren't as good. This track doesn't singlehandedly "save" the side, but it's a worthwhile - albeit obviously recycled - effort.</p>

<p>This stretch of songs ain't, in my opinion, the result of a band going <em>bad</em>, but the result of a band stuck to its own, self-imposed standards. Instead of trying a renovation (Hmm, I wonder if you could add the word "renovation" to the list of "-tion" words on 'One More Time To Live' and realise how out-of-place it'd be!), they played it safe. They were heading nowhere, and went all the way there. The result is obviousness - possibly a wise commercial move, but also a dumb artistic move. So there. Fortunately, like I said, the A side is fine, just because the actual melodies manage to <em>do</em> something. 'The Story In Your Eyes' and 'After You Came' rank as some of the "rockiest" tunes they did since 'Peak Hour', and are both catchy and beautiful. Thomas presents 'Our Guessing Game', which is a bit like a much more upbeat 'The Tide Rushes In', avoiding the "childish" mood of 'Nice To Be Here'. As for John Lodge, he counters the 'grandiosity' of 'One More Time To Live' with the sweet 'Emily's Song', an almost lullabyesque song with great vocals. Nice songs, but not much more than that. Now, it's up to you to decide whether this album is worth getting because of a couple of nice songs. Harcore Moody Blues fans won't even think of the possibility of <em>not</em> having it - after all, it's an archetypal Moody Blues album in every sense, the very definition of their sound. But, you know, when such definition comes only after the band's best efforts, it means something eerie...</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>12/15</strong></big> - Can't say I don't enjoy this stuff.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>11/15</strong></big> - Nothing special <em>indeed</em>.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>10/15</strong></big> - Is there <em>anything</em> new here?<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>12/15</strong></big> - The songs are nicely written as usual... Well, okay, a little less greta than usual.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>11/15</strong></big> - Pretty samey stuff, you know.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/11.png" alt="11" />
</p>

<p>Comments? Ideas? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Send 'em in</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="sojourn">Seventh Sojourn (1972)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li>Lost In A Lost World <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>New Horizons <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>For My Lady <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Isn't Life Strange?</li>
  <li>You And Me</li>
  <li>Land Of Make-Believe <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>When You're A Free Man</li>
  <li><span class="good">I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) ++</span></li>
</ol>

<p>And they did it one more time. Now, <strong>Every Good Boy Deserves Favour</strong> was already pushing things a bit too far, so making <em>another</em> album in the same direction would have been... well, a little annoying. That's not what they did. This album is pretty different from the previous ones. No, the musical style didn't go through any "revolution", but the renovation I mentioned on the previous review did come, to a certain extent. And if <strong>Every Good Boy Deserves Favour</strong> was "low-key", this is just bleak. For real! The mood here isn't inviting at all, and the songs all have a certain <em>deepness</em> that does make them quite more substantial than the likes of 'Nice To Be Here' and 'You Can Never Go Home'. And they've got great melodies <em>aplenty</em> here! Basically, this is the closest to a "return to form" they could get at this point, rejuvenated with the Chamberlin - an updated Mellotron - and a beautiful, layered, rich production. Well, that's not entirely true. Just look at the album title: "Seventh Sojourn". It's like they couldn't wait to get the thing done, so much, that they took a five year break after its release. But that 'tiredness' is actually an asset, here, since the songs are quite genuinely moody.</p>

<p>For starters, they got completely rid of any attempts of poetry here. The album begins and ends with two brilliant, absolutely non-"philosophic" songs. Pinder's 'Lost In A Lost World' sets the tone successfully, with eerie, dubious harmonies on the Chamberlin, and a beautifully constructed melody. It's slow, plodding, and very beautiful. As for 'I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)', it's quite possibly one of Lodge's strongest, most energetic rock songs ever, filled with a strong, pounding rhythm, heavy chords and thick harmonies. This isn't 'Peak Hour', anymore: the song is <em>mean</em>, expressing the band's distaste for being taken as "philosophers" - which is kinda funny. I mean, their previous work was so absolutely puffed up with important messages, and then, they get frustrated when people take them seriously. Didn't they know what fans were capable of doing? Oh, well, the song is still great, and it's good - at last - to be sure that all their "philosophy" wasn't <em>serious</em>. In case you didn't know, <em>yes</em>, I needed something to comfirm that.</p>

<p>In between those songs, you get plenty of good stuff. There aren't any weak songs here at all, and in fact, the record is very consistent, even more than <strong>A Question Of Balance</strong>, maybe. There's a certain lack of <em>truly</em> outstanding tracks, aside from 'I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)', but that's simply what keeps the album from reaching the <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong> level. But yes, everyone's pretty much up to par. The rocker 'You And Me', a Hayward and Edge collaboration, might be the weakest one here, but even that is pretty fine. Hayward's other songs are ballads (well, most songs here are), the pretty, gentle 'Land Of Make-Believe', and the more sweeping, brilliant 'New Horizons'. The latter is particularly beautiful and uplifting, though the melody is a tad predictable. John Lodge also contributes the lengthy, bombastic 'Isn't Life Strange?', with a nice melody and a clever arrangement, stressing the transitions from the quiet, gentle verses into the full-blown choruses. Pinder's other song, 'When You're A Free Man' - dedicated to Timothy Leary - is also lengthy, but is even more morose and melancholy than 'Lost In A Lost World', featuring more of that awesome keyboard work. The song is so bleak, it's hard even to think of it as "sad". Yet, Pinder's vocal performance is truly impressive.</p>

<p>A pinch of variety comes with Ray Thomas' wonderful 'For My Lady', which strikes me not only with its beautiful melody, but with that arrangement, filled with tasteful layers and textures. It breaks the uniformity of sound (I love the sound of that accordeon, for example), even though it's just one song. But I'm very fond of it. I really like this album, and I consider it one of the best "classic" Moody Blues LP's. To be more precise, this'd probably be immediately behind <strong>Days Of Future Passed</strong> in my personal ranking. For the record, yes, this is the last of their "classic" albums, and the rest follows a pretty different trend.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>13/15</strong></big> - It's a very, um, <em>reserved</em> kind of fun, but still very fun.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>12/15</strong></big> - You know, it's the Moody Blues. You gotta give up some of your criteria of what's resonant and what's not...<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>11/15</strong></big> - This does <em>not</em> expand the band's palette. It's different, but not new.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>13/15</strong></big> - Old, but beautifully written music!<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>13/15</strong></big> - A very steady record.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/12.png" alt="12" />
</p>

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